The Orphanage
by arkaydee
Summary: There is one day that Dennis Bishop and Amy Benson will never forget. The day Tom Riddle, the boy neither had dared speak to previously, led them down a treacherous cliff and deep into the heart of a dark and foreboding cave. Neither came out without scars, deep scars which leave them haunted and sweating at night, and looking back on their days in the orphanage as a time of fear.


So, I wrote this about 5 years ago and only recently remembered it. I had written another half of a story, and had plans for another - all within a series regarding the early life of Tom Marvolo Riddle. I think it's about time I post them here. Enjoy my high-school-aged writing, and be sure to leave a review. Thanks!

Also, I don't own any of these characters, etc.

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Lying sprawled out on the thin sheets and lumpy mattress he had slept on for the last ten years, Tom Riddle stared blankly at the slowly disintegrating support beam above his head. A spider had been diligently spinning its web on the rotten wood for the past hour and the lazy smirk on the boy's face grew slowly more sinister as time went by. The spider paused and Tom, far too impatient to bother taunting the thing any longer, watched as its web burst into flames and the arachnid burned along with it. He sighed. Insects weren't any fun. Nothing was fun in the damned orphanage. Tom lifted himself to his feet and shrugged on his coat. The matron had promised the children a trip to the sea, and, despite his protests, he had been forced to join them. An old mirror covered in the scratchy black signs of age had the boy pause briefly to let his dark eyes scan his equally dark hair, making sure none of the inky black strands had fallen out of place. It wouldn't do to have him look flustered and dirty on an outing such as this. He left the room and marched into the common room where the rest of the children were waiting eagerly. Normally he wouldn't have allowed himself to associate with the others, but his mind was already buzzing, formulating a plan to prevent the day from being an absolute nightmare. For him, anyway.

"Ah, Tom. There you are," the voice of Mrs. Cole echoed across the hard walls of the orphanage. Mrs. Cole was always rather hesitant to chastise Tom. There had been incidents. No-one had ever been able to prove who had caused them, but the antisocial dark featured boy always seemed to be a suspect. They hadn't been the regular incidents which normally occurred in those types of places either. Some of them had been rather disturbing. The matron watched anxiously as the loner boy merely looked at her in disdain then promptly began fiddling with his coat. There was no use trying to involve him in any way, so Mrs. Cole simply turned her sharp-featured face to the rest of the children and made sure each of them were ready. But there was no need. Unlike the Riddle boy each of them had been ready for hours.

Before long all of the children had piled into a small bus, each paired with another to make sure none of them were lost once they arrived at the windy cliff tops they were travelling to. That is, all except Tom. The matron had thought it best not to have him tied to another. After all, it would likely cause more harm than good. He sat alone, which didn't worry the boy in the slightest. It was the fact that there were still children in front of them that irritated him; particularly when they spoke about him right within earshot.

"Did you notice? Tom has no partner. Mrs. Cole won't even go near him," Dennis Bishop sneered in a hushed tone.

"That's stupid, he's not that bad. _I'm_ not afraid of him." Amy Benson had always been competitive. She was often found fighting with the boys and throwing earthworms towards the other girls. However, her bark, as they say, was far worse than her bite.

"Oh, yeah? Then talk to him."

Tom sighed. These two children were even less intelligent than they looked; though that wasn't saying much. He watched as the boy and girl ahead of him turned around to look at him.

"Hey Tom," Amy was the only one of the two game enough to speak, "you didn't really kill Billy Stubbs' bunny did you?" The girl was trying not to sound afraid, but wasn't quite succeeding. She grew a little less uneasy, however, when Tom replied.

"Of course not." The boy shot her a smile, which had only the briefest hint of falsity, then immediately turned it into a forlorn expression. "The poor thing. I would never do anything like that. Though, I think I know who did it." At this, the other orphans leaned in closer, feeling far more comfortable now that the usually anti-social boy was being quite friendly.

"Billy," was the reply, after a long pause.

"Billy? Stubbs?" Dennis finally spoke. "Why would he do that to his own pet?"

"Why not?" Tom replied. "It was only a rabbit. Besides, you all thought I did it, didn't you? That is exactly what he planned." It was far too easy to lie to these children. They would believe anything that was said to them. If he had told them that he had seen their parents walk straight past the institution they would have followed the cobblestone roads for miles to look. Pathetic.

Amy and Dennis both turned around and took quick glances at Billy, who was conveniently watching a small insect squirm beneath his fingers. Tom watched their expressions of shock turn to absolute disgust. It was all far too easy. Only a few brief sentences had been uttered to them and they already trusted him. That trust had best be savoured, as they would not be feeling it for very long. By the end of the day the only feeling they would have towards the strange dark haired orphan would be that of fear.

Tom listened to the two children in front of him whisper amongst themselves for a while, each occasionally shooting furtive glances at the accused bunny murderer. Eventually, they turned towards him again. "I think we should get him back," Amy announced. Dennis nodded excitedly, and Tom attempted an almost shy expression – a look he had never needed to use before.

"Oh, I don't know," he began.

Before he could even continue lying about how bad he would feel about dobbing in Billy, or hurting him in any way, Amy and Dennis told him they would have a proper meeting once they got to the beach. Tom muttered a soft "okay" and continued looking withdrawn. The meeting had been their plan, and yet it fitted perfectly with Tom's. He barely had to do anything to have the orphans eating from the palm of his hand; like the stupid obedient dogs that they were. And like dogs who cower from lightening, they would tremble at the things he could do with the powers his father had given him. His father, who, he was sure, had been a fearsome and powerful man.

The boy's thoughts on his father were interrupted as the thick smoke billowing from the bus they were on stopped, as did the loud thrumming of the engine. He looked out the window at the wide expanse of ocean he could see below them. Angry waves raged against each other, toppling against another and finally ending their wars as they crashed into the mighty cliffs which the children were now piling onto as they fell out of the bus.

Tom pulled himself up gracefully and wandered out into the open, the wind blowing his previously perfect hair about and making him impatient. If he was going to go through with his plan, then he had best get started immediately.

The boy casually began wandering away from the group, focusing his attention on a gnarled tree in the distance. Having only one person to look after fifteen children had been a mistake on Mrs. Cole's part, but Tom wasn't about to hate her for it. Or rather, hate her any more than he already did. He continued meandering and, after he had walked about fifty metres, turned and caught the eyes of Amy and Dennis. They followed. Eventually Tom reached the tree, whose bare twisted branches resembled the skeletal body of a writhing lunatic. It seemed to be trying to escape the stormy cliff top asylum on which it lived. Tom knew how it felt. He turned back towards the now distant group of chattering orphans and leaned nonchalantly against the tree, his eyes staring at the two children who were now before him.

"Follow me," Tom added to the cries of the strong winds whipping against them. He walked a little further, past the tree and to a point where the group disappeared completely. The cliffs dropped relatively steeply below them, but not so much as they had further back. As they had made their way to the point on which they now stood, Tom had noticed a dark break in the rock below; likely a cave. It would be interesting to see where it went. Not to mention that it would be a rather nice setting to put his plan into action.

With a few steps towards the ocean, Tom let the edge of his shoes dangle over the edge of the cliff for a brief moment before stepping right off the edge. He could hear the gasps of the others as he slid down the rock face and found his feet on a small outcrop. Looking up, he could see two grubby faces peer over the edge. Without a word, Tom motioned for them to follow. Now this would be a measure of their loyalty. And stupidity.

After the initial shock, Amy was barely fazed. She shrugged and, keeping her eyes on Tom, stepped gingerly into thin air. Her feet scrabbled to find a foothold, but she felt strangely at ease. There was something surrounding her, keeping her safe. She could feel it.

A moment passed and Amy made it to the outcrop, Dennis following her soon after, albeit much less eagerly. He took a few minutes just to find the courage to step off the cliff, but once he had he felt just as safe as Amy. It was a strange feeling, one that neither of the children could explain.

Once he was sure that both of them still trusted him, Tom began to climb further down the cliff face, this time with nothing to land safely on for fifty metres, and nothing to aid the climb but the uneven surface of the cliff. Tom's small trick with helping his 'friends' to the outcrop had left the two confident that they could find their way down to wherever he was taking them. Sure enough, they followed again, both feeling an overpowering sense of safety and had made it to the cave in no time at all.

All three orphans were panting, trying to catch their breaths from the difficult climb. Tom, however, was impatient to explore the possibilities of their surroundings. He began walking to the dark depths of the cave.

"Wait," Amy's out of breath voice echoed across the rocky walls. "We don't know what's down there, we can't even see. I don't think it's safe. Dennis nodded in agreement beside her.

"Safe?" Tom spat. "You're worried about safety after you just climbed unaided down a cliff?" His voice had changed; it was no longer friendly and encouraging. It no longer needed to be – they couldn't get back up. Still, he sighed and stepped towards Dennis, reaching out his hand. "Your jumper."

Dennis relinquished the garment immediately, noticing the tone in Tom's voice. The boy was beginning to grow more afraid of Tom the more they spent time with him. Though there was no way he would say anything against him. There was too much to lose. Dennis watched as Tom took the jumper, wrapped it into a tight ball and set it on the ground. He then went grabbed two rocks, hit them together over the clothing and watched as sparks rained down and set it alight.

"There, now we can see." Tom stood up and started walking into the cave again. Amy, who was now also realising that Tom wasn't who he had seemed to be earlier, knew she only had a minute or so to figure out what to do with the gift she had been given before she found trouble. She looked around and, spotting a rather out of place stick, picked it up and stuffed into the end of the jumper. It was rudimentary, but it was a torch all the same.

She and Dennis followed Tom for what seemed like hours, slowly going further into the darkness. Eventually, the dark-haired orphan boy stopped. They had found a lake. It was strange for Tom, not knowing exactly what he would come across; yet exciting, in a way. Now that they had arrived at the lake, however, he knew what he would do. Wool's orphanage did not give one much opportunity for swimming. The establishment was poorly equipped for any form of fun, and there were no bath houses anywhere nearby. However, there was a small bath, with which they were given ten minutes each morning and night to clean themselves of all grime which they inevitably picked up in the hole of a place. With this time, Tom had learned that, with immense concentration, he could last well over eight minutes without breathing. Though, it was a rather painful experience. After those eight minutes were up, his lungs felt as if they had caught fire and had burned to ashes. He knew it had to have something to do with the power he possessed, and he had always wondered if he could transfer this power to others for a short time. It would be a harrowing experience; exactly what these stupid children needed.

"We must cross to the other side," Tom announced.

"How?" was the _intelligent_ reply uttered in unison from his two followers.

"Swim."

Amy and Dennis looked worried, as they should. The two would soon experience the pain of having their lungs filled with artificial oxygen. A thing magic had created, yet not without consequence. Tom motioned for the two to get into the water, but they did not obey. Tom's eyes briefly seemed to glow red. The air about him seemed to shimmer a little, the way the air appears to bend in the distance on a hot day. He took a step towards Dennis and immediately the poor victim fell to his knees, reaching at his throat and making the rasping, choking noises of someone nearing death. Amy screamed, the unintelligible word echoing through the cave. Dennis ceased choking and collapsed completely to the ground. Dry sobs erupted from his throat. Tom motioned towards the lake again, this time finding that the two children obeyed him. They had come to realise what power he held.

"Dive," Tom said coldly. Unlike Amy, his voice did not echo off the walls, though it should have been loud enough to do so.

Dennis and Amy followed his command. Each ducked their heads under the water until their whole bodies were submerged in the depths. Neither knew what lurked below them, nor was the thought important to them once Tom began his experiment. Bubbles began to rise to the surface of the lake as Amy and Dennis thrashed. Both children suddenly found themselves unable to come up for breath, an invisible wall blocking the way above them. Dennis tried to yell, forgetting momentarily that no-one would hear him. Dirty water filled his lungs, but he did not drown. He soon found that the water had no effect on him. He was not gaining any more air-for he could feel his lungs burning with every minute he was trapped-but he was not dying either. Amy soon discovered this feeling for herself, and used the time it gave her to thrash wildly against the invisible barrier with closed fists.

Tom looked on coldly. From the movement underwater, he could tell that both orphans were still very much alive. The eight minute mark was also nearing, and he was curious to find out how long his power could last. He could feel the energy leaving him, creating a barrier and keeping the two alive was taking its toll. Eventually, he knew he had reached his limit. Nine minutes had passed and Tom was almost to the point of unconsciousness. He let himself go and fell to the floor. He knew this sign of weakness would not go unnoticed, but he reasoned that Amy and Dennis would be too busy choking and wheezing themselves to worry about it too much. He was right.

When Tom had finished tormenting them, the orphans knew immediately. Amy's fists, which had previously hit a hard surface, glided freely through the water and she kicked hard and fast to reach fresh air. Once she had reached the water's surface, and noticed Dennis beside her, she breathed deeply, lungs burning more painfully still with every breath. She wondered if the pain would ever stop. The two victims dragged themselves to the shore and collapsed, only lifting themselves briefly from the ground to retch the water from their lungs.

Another nine minutes had passed and Tom was gone. It had been more than enough time to find a small bit of energy and make his way back up to the top of the cliff. Mrs. Cole had been alerted and emergency crews were already finding their way slowly down the peak. Amy and Dennis never told anyone of what happened that day. But neither ever forgot.


End file.
